Local Democracy Reporter - GrimsbyLive

Do you want to shine a light on the daily decisions of councils, to ensure politicians keep their promises? Do you want to break essential stories about public interest issues? We are looking for someone to join us at GrimsbyLive as a Local Democracy Reporter to live and breathe the decisions being made by North Lincolnshire Council, North East Lincolnshire Council and Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority. This is a home based role, with regular travel to in person council meetings and open access to our Hull Hub.

Responsibilities

Shine a light on the daily decisions of councils to ensure politicians keep their promises; break essential stories about public interest issues; cover the key business of North Lincolnshire Council, North East Lincolnshire Council and Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority; cover council meetings and key decisions in a timely manner; build contacts, understand and explore key issues, write features and break exclusives; hold local authorities to account through a BBC-supported service; work has potential to be shown on the BBC Homepage and used by other local media partners

Requirements

NCTJ or NQJ qualified journalist; understanding and interest in the issues of your local community; ability to pull the stories out of local council meetings that our readers want to know about; interest in local councils and government; keen to hold politicians to account and ensure the local communities are heard; expert on all things North Lincolnshire; solid understanding of the patch you will be covering; currently located in or around North Lincolnshire or ready to relocate

Nice to have

100wpm shorthand skills (or currently working towards this); previous experience reporting on local government/councils; good knowledge of social media and how you can use it to drive audience and engagement; access to your own vehicle to travel regularly to the various councils

Benefits

25 days' holiday (plus bank holidays), extra day after 3, 5, and 10 years, and scheme to buy extra holiday; extra day's paid leave each year to volunteer; big moment day - an extra day's paid leave for a moment that matters to you; company pension contributions matched up to 6%; supportive and progressive people policies including enhanced family leave; healthcare cash plan; car lease scheme for electric or hybrid cars through salary sacrifice; wellbeing support including 24/7 assistance programme; access to discounts including 15% off with Reach's online marketplace Yimbly; interest-free loans including for season tickets and technology